


Destination

by JasnNCarly



Series: Jason and Carly's World [6]
Category: General Hospital
Genre: F/M, JasnNCarly, My OTP, One Shot
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2007-05-25
Updated: 2007-05-25
Packaged: 2020-07-19 22:26:32
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,670
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19981519
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JasnNCarly/pseuds/JasnNCarly
Summary: Carly tries to make sure Michael's future is secure.





	Destination

**Author's Note:**

> A/R story in which Carly was never pregnant with Sonny's child, and they never had a relationship.

Jason parked his motorcycle, staring up the path towards the small house. Dismounting the bike, he retrieved the gift from the back and debated momentarily. Drawing in a deep breath, he approached the door.  
  
He made it onto the porch and immediately heard the song emerging from the backyard. The laughter and chatter of a party back there, reminding him the weather had been incredibly nice for the celebration with not a hint of snow.   
  
Jason closed his eyes tightly, reminding himself why he was a part of Michael's life only on holidays, and pressed the door bell. His words to her haunted him. That conversation which ended it all.   
  
It seemed a lifetime ago, and his life was at a stand still since that day in Elizabeth's studio. When he confirmed her idea that he only thought the worst of her. When he finally admitted he loved her and told it was over.   
  
Yet, here he was. Still in her life. Still in Michael's. Still without a home.   
  
"Jason!" Bobbie beamed, opening the door and hugging him tightly, "We were wondering when you were going to show up!"  
  
"Sorry, I'm late. There was traffic on the way here."  
  
"From where this time?" She inquired, pulling away and crossing her arms, "Nevermind, Michael's going to be so happy that you're finally here!"  
  
 _{Sure, I've been in love a time or two  
But in the end I still choose you  
No one could ever make me feel this way...  
  
That's why it's killing me  
What we're going through  
Somehow thought between me and you  
Our love would stand the test of time  
And never, ever fade...}_  
  
~*~  
  
"With Mama, Michael." Carly instructed and the birthday boy mimicked her as she turned slowly, moving her hips to the beat.  
  
The laughter erupted from the guests as the two moved gently with the song filling the backyard. It was the perfect day and night.  
  
 _Just the way I planned it._  
  
Carly smiled proudly, continuing to playfully dance with her son as some people followed their lead and the rest watched the two interact.  
  
She laughed as her son moved to the music with a rhythm beyond his years.   
  
_If there's one thing I could pass on._  
  
Then, instinctively, she felt his presence. The smile left her expression and her eyes shot up. And as he had been doing yearly, Jason appeared with his eyes set on the family he had left behind.  
  
And before she could so much as offer a smile, Michael was running to him with an overjoyed call out, "Dad!"  
  
~*~  
  
It had been three years since Jason had found her with Sonny in that dark penthouse. Since then, Carly felt she had served her prison sentence well.   
  
He had left without warning, leaving not so much as a note, and she was forced to fight alone.   
  
After he had disappeared, Carly received a manilla envelope with the information she needed to leave AJ. She and Michael were out of that mansion like a bat out of hell. She had got AJ to sign over sole custody and stayed with Bobbie until she could get a place of her own...all of this _without_ Jason.  
  
But in this moment, she was happy. Because Jason was still connected to her, no matter how much he tried not to be, and was still Michael's father.   
  
Michael and Jason had talked every day on the phone. Jason was always around for holidays, especially Michael's birthday. For this, Carly still felt an amazing debt to him...a debt she was sure she could never repay.  
  
Tonight he had appeared as usual...gorgeous and unattainable. Carly had never know any man to make so much black look so damn attractive. Jason wearing black jeans and a black T-shirt were as good as gold to her, and even while he hated her...she had never forgotten anything...especially that.  
  
 _{But we're not making love no more  
We're not even trying to change  
Tell me how it slips away  
Does it ever stay the same  
We don't even talk no more  
We've run out of words to say  
Tell me it don't have to change  
Won't it ever stay the same?}_  
  
"Thanks for setting up the guest room for me." Jason's voice entered the room softly, the comfort in the room suddenly shifting to nearly unbearable.  
  
Carly glanced back at him, offering a polite smile before returning to her clean up, "It's not a problem."  
  
There was a long period where Jason merely watched her. It became more and more apparent to him, every time they came in contact again, she was maturing. He had watched Carly in awe earlier, shocked that with time she just seemed to look better. It was impossible to ignore.  
  
Even now, he could not stop staring. Her long blond hair was dripping down to her about her mid-back, her body draped in a simple yet elegant coffee colored gown. With spaghetti straps and a smooth texture hugging her frame just enough to get someone's imagination running, Jason tried to mentally will himself out of the room. Because every time these thoughts occurred to him, he would go on defense, leaving the two of them on bad terms until his next visit.  
  
As she wrapped all the leftovers into unidentifiable shapes, Jason found himself approaching her despite his better judgement, "Did you need any help?"  
  
"Nah, Bobbie's been trying to teach me the fine art of conserving my aluminum foil. I don't need anymore lectures, believe me." Carly joked while opening her fridge door with an angry sigh, "Where am I gonna fit all this stuff?"  
  
He grinned at the foil fortress she was surrounded by and shook his head silently.  
  
Dragging her decoration filled trash can to the refrigerator door, she begin to throw things in, glancing painfully at the dates on some of the items. With this clear distraction, Carly began their usual conversation, "So, where'd you go this time?"  
  
"Cross country. Was in California for a little bit, spent most of my time at the ocean." Jason admittance caused her to flash him an appreciative smile; the two of them flooded with memories of Florida, "That's the only place I really stayed at for any real amount of time."  
  
"Cali, huh?" She questioned as she found homes for the wrapped items cluttering her counter, "Maybe you should consider getting a place there. I know Michael would love to visit there."   
  
"You'd actually let him fly to see me?"  
  
"Reluctantly." Carly laughed while nodding slowly, grabbing a trash bag and venturing around the rest of the house, "But you know you could always move back to Port Charles, and I wouldn't have to fly him out anywhere."  
  
 _Not this again. You know I can't._  
  
Jason shook his head following her into the backyard, maintaining his silence.  
  
 _Say something._ She thought angrily while wandering in the backyard, bending down carefully to retrieve the trash surrounding. To her disappointment, she had to break the silence once again...with something she knew he probably wanted to talk about less than moving back.  
  
Carly paused, meeting his eyes with caution, "Did you hear about AJ?"  
  
He nodded, bowing his head while commenting, "I'm just glad no one else got hurt this time."  
  
"Monica was hurt." She corrected causing Jason to warn her with a quick glare. Letting out a long sigh, Carly pressed on, "I know that I have no right to butt into your personal life and--"  
  
Jason cut her off quickly, shoving his hands into his pockets, and leaned against the back doorway, "You're right, you don't."   
  
_{Girl, I know things aren't going right  
But don't you think it deserves a fight  
A love like ours don't happen everyday  
And we're losing it, right now as we speak  
And if we don't wake up, it's a memory  
A time gone past, a love that sailed away}_  
  
Even with this warning, she continued, "She could use some comfort, Jason. I'm not Monica's biggest fan, but I can only imagine what it's like to lose one child. Imagine losing both." Carly could tell her on the verge of sending him back to his motorcycle and away from her so resumed her clean up, "Emily won't be back from Europe for another week, and you know better than anyone what kind of hell that Quartermaine Mansion can be. I just think you should see her, not that you care about my opinion or anything like that."  
  
Jason watched her without a single shot back. It was obvious their conversation was about to take its normal run, but he still stood there. His eyes followed her as she angrily shoved trash into the bag with an angry frown on her face. Looking away from her and towards the sky, Jason confessed softly, "I tried to call her." The admission immediately caught Carly's attention, "But--when she picked up, I mean...I didn't know what to say or--do. I hung up and left it alone."  
  
"Did you ever think that maybe you didn't have to say anything?" Carly questioned, tying off the bag and double checking the yard. _You know you're going to find things throughout the year._ She thought sarcastically before going to place the bag by the trash cans, allowing her comment to sink into Jason's skin before adding, "She just needs to know someone cares enough to call. That's it."  
  
As much as he hated to admit, she was right. The least he could have done was let her know it was him who called. But Jason did not have the strength to do it then or now.  
  
Rubbing her hands together in order to eliminate any crumbs from her hands, she slowly made her way towards him, "You could be doing a lot good here, if you weren't so busy running away from everything."  
  
"You really want to go another round, right now? Michael's asleep."  
  
Crossing her arms, Carly's expression went cold, "I know more about his sleep schedule then you do, all right? So let's avoid parent versus parent here, okay?"   
  
"Why do you want to do this every time I come here? Why can't you just let it be about Michael?"  
  
The comment stung, but Carly shrugged it off, positive her reason to go on was bigger than her own selfish reasons, "Because this is about him."   
  
_{We're not making love no more  
We're not even trying to change  
Tell me how it slips away  
Does it ever stay the same  
We don't even talk no more  
We've run out of words to say  
Tell me it don't have to change  
Won't it ever stay the same?}_  
  
He grew concerned, standing straight, "Michael's okay, isn't he?"  
  
"That's just it, Jason, you should know." She stated strongly, seeing the immediate regret in his eyes, and thought aloud shamefully, "But Michael's getting older and--he needs you to be his _full_ time father, not the daddy who visits when he can."  
  
"I know that." He agreed, despite the urge to fight her, "I've been thinking about it."  
  
"And?"  
  
"That's as far as I've gotten."  
  
"If you want to go on punishing me for the rest of our lives, that's fine." She laughed softly, madly but got it together before attacking once again, "But don't you dare make my mistake your excuse to ignore our son."   
  
Carly struck a nerve, but somehow Jason kept it to himself - maybe because some of it was truth.  
  
"You want to believe I'm horrible, fine. But I've straightened myself out, Jase. I got everything together for him and myself. I'm pretty much run Kelly's, and I bought this house with _my_ money. **Me**. Not you, not that bastard Sonny, and definitely not the Quartermaine family. I did it, without anyone."  
  
Jason nodded unable to meet her eyes, unable to look at the beauty he left behind.  
  
"And _you_ were nowhere to be found. You left me and our son behind, and you didn't think twice." She snapped, her tears beginning to spill, and drew in a deep breath, "I got it at first you know, you hated me so much that you couldn't..."  
  
 _{I dream of lovers past and  
I see a girl so sad cause  
She lost the only man she loved  
He went away  
Well, it's not too late for us  
To change}_  
  
He stared at her dumbfounded, "You know I don't hate you, Carly."  
  
"Yes, you do." Carly reiterated, dabbing her cheeks with her palms, "And that's fine. Because I've loved you the whole time without question. And I could even understand at first. The _first_ month, the _first_ year, hell I could even understand the second. But now? You don't want to forgive me, all right, but not living close to your son? It's not fair to him." She saw the disbelief in his eyes and closed hers, pressing her hands together in a prayer like gesture, "I'm begging you to reconsider coming back. And to prove to you, it's not about me, I've seen a lawyer."  
  
His eyes met hers suspiciously, a thousand thoughts screaming to be let loose.  
  
"I've drawn up joint custody papers. You get Michael half the time, I get the other half, and if you really want to maintain your distance from me, I'll have Bobbie run him between us. You would spend the same amount of time around me that you do now. Simple, clean, and Michael never feels any of our past."   
  
Jason was dumbfounded. Tonight, he was sure, would be like any other. They would argue about how hurt they both were, both claim they were the one done wrong, and he would leave furious tomorrow...with only a goodbye to Michael.  
  
"Just--think about it."   
  
His eyes traveled with her as she re-entered the house, careful to look at nothing but her feet, until he heard a drawer in the kitchen open. Jason's eyes shot up from the floor just as she laid a document on the counter.   
  
With a small, sad smile, she offered one last plea, "Please look over these."   
  
When he was sure she was gone, he locked up the back door and went to the papers she had requested him to look at.   
  
It was exactly what she had said it was. A joint custody agreement with the clear, specific details she had mentioned.   
  
~*~  
  
 _{We're not making love no more  
We're not even trying to change  
Tell me how it slips away  
Does it ever stay the same  
We don't even talk no more  
We've run out of words to say  
(We use to be best friends)  
Tell me it don't have to change  
Won't it ever stay the same?}_  
  
Opening the bathroom door as she continued to run the brush through her hair, Carly emerged in an oversized T-shirt. Fully prepared for a deep and troubled sleep, Carly walked towards her bed. The moment she was beside it, there was a soft knock at her door. Glancing towards the clock to see what time it was, she called out quietly, "Come in." Shocked by who it was, she set her brush down and pulled back the covers on her bed, "Did you look them over?"  
  
"Yeah."   
  
Carly nodded slowly, climbing into bed, "Good." As he turned away from her to close the door, she nervously tucked her hair behind her ears and covered herself from the waist down with the blankets surrounding. Crossing her arms with a less than impressed expression, despite the rush of once again having his presence in a bedroom with her, Carly braved the question, "Do you think you could live with it--the agreement and everything else?"  
  
Jason remained silent while setting the documents on the chair beside her make up mirror. Taking a seat on her bed, he was careful to take note of her eyes to make sure it was okay. Jason had no idea where to begin, no idea how to share the thoughts he had been thinking about for over a year now or those few hours downstairs.   
  
She feared he may say the worst any minute now. Carly faced away from him, so ashamed of the position she had put the both of them in one stupid night.   
  
For the longest time, they both sat there...silent with all their regrets.   
  
Suddenly, Jason broke the silence with a soft correction, "My leaving was never about punishing you."   
  
Turning to face her, he found she was no longer on the defensive. She was now hugging herself, hanging her head in shame, and his heart wanted to comfort both of them by taking her into his arms. End this whole mess by finally admitting they would never be over.  
  
But he remained in place, looking away with guilt of his own, "I've been leaving, without a look back, because I've wanted to be numb. Numb to you, and me, and Sonny. This--whole thing."  
  
"I don't know how many times--or ways to tell you I'm sorry." Carly whispered, her heart aching to make this all right, "And you say it doesn't matter, but it does. I _need_ you to know how much I regret it. How--much I hate myself for hurting you, and our family, and how--I know I can't take it back. I was-- _so_ stupid for sleeping with him, and I'm _so_ sorry. More than I could ever express."  
  
Her distention down Sonny's stairs haunted him. But somehow, he managed to admit with tightly shut eyes, "I know that."  
  
"It cost me everything. It cost me--you." Carly leaned her head back, feeling the tears run down her cheeks, "And I'm idiot. And I deserve to be alone, loving you, and I get it. But don't--please, put it aside for Michael."  
  
"I want to be here for him." He responded calmly, facing her, "And you."   
  
Carly did not know how to react, other than take a deep breath to keep herself from passing out, "How long do you really think you can run, Jase?"  
  
"You're not the only one who's sorry about--everything." He felt his courage returning to him as she leaned towards him, placing her hand over his.   
  
It had been an eternity since there was any contact between them. The moment it was there again, they were both painfully aware of how much they missed it.  
  
"I think about you every day. When I'm on the phone with Michael, I can hear the background sometimes and...I know what you're doing without anyone telling me." Jason intertwined their fingers, his palm know over hers, "I miss you."  
  
Carly had waited patiently to hear him say those words, now that he finally had...she was speechless. Staring at their joined hands, she forced back sobs.  
  
"I'm always going to love you. No matter where I go, how I long I stay, and..." He trailed off, bowing his head while stroking her skin with his thumb, "Believe me, I've tried."  
  
"Is it because of Sonny?" Finding the strength to say those words nearly drained her, but she went on, "Why are you so afraid of me?"  
  
"Because of how I feel when..." Jason released her hand, standing to his feet and trying to voice his thoughts - his emotions - something which paralyzed him to this day. He hated sharing, hated digesting, and detested defending his feelings.  
  
But Carly stared up at him with hopeful eyes filled with tormented tears, and he knew he had to go on.  
  
"I'm not in control when I'm with you. I react rather then think things out." He explained causing her to gaze away, "I like having control over myself, control over what happens to me. I don't have that with you. I love you, and you have every possible way of hurting me."  
  
"Is that what you think I want to do?" Carly questioned bravely, avoiding his eyes as she wiped away her rapid tears, "Hurt you?"  
  
"No." Jason admitted softly, his eyes shifting to his feet, "But it happened. And I don't want it to happen again." Regretfully, he added, "And you can't promise me that it won't."  
  
"No...I can't." She agreed, closing her eyes and inhaling deeply, "So--where does that leave us? We're just in love separately for the rest of our lives?"  
  
He shook his head silently, heading towards the door.  
  
"Jason," Carly called out, causing him to pause his exit, "I love you. If I do it alone or with you, it isn't going to matter."  
  
"I love you, too."   
  
Again, with those words, he was out of her life.  
  
~*~  
  
The sun aggressively greeted her the following morning. With an angry, frustrated moan she glanced her adjusting eyes towards the clock. The second she saw it was late morning, Carly was out of bed.  
  
Rushing to the window, she found herself disappointed when searching for his motorcycle to find a vacancy where it once was.  
  
Even with that discussion last night, Jason had confirmed her worst fears and left once again.   
  
"Jason." She softly called out, heartbroken by the knowledge he would not respond. Walking over to her mirror to retrieve something to tie up her hair, Carly imagined the list of tasks she could do to forget him. Each of them would prove to be unsuccessful as they had done in the past.   
  
She pulled her hair up, braving a smile for the greeting with her son, when she caught a glimpse of the papers still lying on her chair. Carly laughed angrily at herself for imagining they would make a difference until she saw his signature sitting on the bottom of the document.  
  
Suddenly, a wide and genuine smile spread as she stared looked over the pages.   
  
Carly found only one thing scratched out...Bobbie's interference.  
  
Whispering to herself in disbelief, she clutched the papers to her chest, "He's coming home."

  
  
_**The End** _   
  
_**Song Credit: "We're Not Making Love No More" - Dru Hill** _


End file.
